Badass Fitness

Power starts in your core...and this Power Core series is your start!

As an instructor, I'm known for leading hard-charging, high-energy Badass Bootcamps filled with burpees, jump squats, suicides, shuttle runs, ladder drills and more. Cycling classes are just as intense, with hard-driving, bass-pumping music and plenty of steep climbs followed by fast descents.

Yet one of my favorite classes to teach each week is the one set inside a yoga studio, with a backdrop of mellow music and low lighting. My Sunday afternoon PowerCore at Yoga Quest is outside my fitness comfort zone, which makes me love it all the more.

It forces me to settle down, to enjoy the quiet - and to push my body and that of students in a different way. In many ways, this is one of the most challenging classes to take, and teach.

Twelve-plus minutes of planks, plus warrior crunches and wood chops will do that! My students groan with every plank. But here is why I push: athletic performance - whether you are a true competitor or a weekend warrior - starts in the core. It is what holds you up during the last mile of the triathlon. It makes you a stronger swimmer, a better cyclist, a more powerful force on the baseball field, the football field, the basketball court, etc.

So try this core routine, and tell me what you think. It will take about 45 minutes.  

Not sure what a walkout plank is? Watch my demo here. Also check out demos for the walking plank and waist cinchers! Good stuff!

Coming up: Chicken "fried rice" you'll want to eat with a shovel, not chopsticks cuz it is just that good!

 

Manic Monday Bootcamp Circuit: No Tickle, All Power!

This workout won't tickle. But when you finish it - and yes, you can and will because you are Badass - you will feel empowered. Unstoppable. Ruling the mountaintop! Ready to take on the world - or at least ready to face a new week!

The format is an upside down pyramid: 30 reps, 20, 10, 5, then back up to 10, 20 and 30. The exercises: tried and true moves like jacks, jump squats and pushups plus burpees, dead man crawls and walkout planks. If you're just starting out, you can finish one round and gauge how you feel to decide whether to keep going. If you've been at this Badass Journey for awhile, aim for 3-5 rounds. 

You'll need: A set of dumbbells, a mat depending on what type of flooring you are dealing with, and yourself!

We did this in Badass Bootcamp this morning, and it was one of those "hurts so good" kinda burns.  So go ahead. #Getafterit and show Monday who's boss.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh, and it's that time again! My Foodie Pen Pal this month delivered some yummy sweet potato chips, trail mix and other goodies. Have a look, and if you haven't done the Pen Pal deal yet, I encourage you to try it for a month. It is fun to give AND to receive! 

 

 

Coming up: 5 ways to use pumpkin - none of them for pie! And a post about inspiration, motivation, and Under Armour's challenge to help women unleash their most Badass, beautiful selves!

Manic Monday WOD: Three Circuits for a Full-Body Badass Kickin'

Hey hey it's Monday! Definitely not the best day of the week (that honor is split between Friday, Saturday and Sunday, right?) but a chance to start strong and set the tone for the week ahead.

So this WOD is meant to start strong, and basically make Monday our beyotch. You will need:

• Bosu balance trainer (tho if you don't have one, the burpees and squats can be done without it)
• Dumbbells 

You'll do three rounds of all three circuits, each of which has 3 exercises. By the time you get through all 3 circuits, you'll have worked yourself from head to toe. Take that, Monday! #BOOM

Circuit 1:

• 10 Bosu burpees
• 20 weighted Bosu squats
• 20 dumbbell plank rows

 

Circuit 2

• 20 Bosu hop-ups
• 20 squat presses
• 20 biceps curls

 

Circuit 3

• 20 waist cinchers
• 10 walking planks
• 1-minute plank

 

Wednesday WOD: Zero Excuses, All Tabata

It's Wednesday, time to push through that midway Hump toward the weekend - and this time, we get a three-day weekend thanks to Labor Day!

This WOD (workout of the day) is all Tabata drills, alternating cardio rounds with strength. Ideally, you rest no more than 2 minutes between each Tabata set to keep the heart rate pumping and the muscles firing. This one is no joke, but it WILL power you through the day and make you feel invincible heading toward the weekend! It will also make the most of 25 minutes of work, using high intensity interval training to stoke the metabolism and burn major calories.

Now go on. #getafterit

Coming up: My Foodie Pen Pal surprise, and chocolate and cookies I am NOT feeling guilt over!

TGIF! Time for a #50BadassReps Burner!

The summer is ending, college football season is near, and another Friday is here! Time to store the pool floaties and beach towels away and get our game faces on, people!

Those football games don't get won with easy breezy gym sessions and margarita dates. Victory - on the football field and in your own Badass Journey - comes with hard work, buckets of perspiration... and #50BadassReps!

So bust open your own "offense" with this #50BadassReps WOD. It's 50 reps of various moves, multiplied, for a Badass-whoopin' that will make your endorphins flow like a bottle of vino at Friday Happy Hour.

Workout now, Toast later!

'Cuz Sweaty Boredom Sucks: 5 Exercises, 5 Ways, Endless Workouts!

What's worse than boredom? Sweaty boredom! If you've ever been there - the class where the instructor is using the SAME playlist as every other week, for the SAME exercises and SAME number of reps - you know this can feel a little like a military camp. We just keep checking the clock, hoping the misery will end soon. Shoot me now, shoot me now, shoot me now....

But workouts don't have to be, nor should they be, dull. In fact, when it gets even the slightest bit comfortable, it is time to switch things up. Yet we don't necessarily have to reinvent the wheel. We can just change the reps, the order of the moves, the method of doing the moves, etc. to make it feel like an entirely new routine.

By taking the same 5 exercises and smashing them up in different ways, we can go weeks and weeks without ever getting bored. The sweat will pour off in buckets, but we will be exhilarated as opposed to snoozing through it!

Here's the skinny:

The 5 Moves

1. Burpees

 

2. Leap Frogs: Leap forward like a frog, landing on your heels softly as you lower into a squat and then leap forward again.

 

3. Waist Cinchers

 

4. Tricep Dips

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. Walking Pushups

 

The 5 Options

1. Traditional Timed: Do each exercise for 30 to 60 seconds, in order, without stopping (or with very brief rest). Cycle through two to three more times, depending on schedule and fitness level.

2. Race the Clock: Do 10 reps of each exercise, without stopping, in this order: Burpees, Walking Pushups, Leap Frogs, Waist Cinchers, Tricep Dips. Go through as many cycles as you can in 15 minutes.

3. Pyramid Reps: Do the exercises in reps of 50, 25, 15, 25, 50 corresponding to this order: Leap Frogs, Tricep Dips, Burpees, Walking Pushups, Waist Cinchers. Cycle through two to three times.

4. Race Yourself Reps: Do 15 reps of each exercise in this order as quickly as you can, timing yourself: Leap Frogs, Tricep Dips, Burpees, Walking Pushups, Waist Cinchers. Next time, try to beat your own PR!

5. Shuffle the Deck: Create two sets of cards. One set has each of the 5 exercises on them. The other has the following numbers, indicating reps: 10, 20, 30, 40, 50. Pick from each of the decks to determine what your workout will be - and pray to the Burpee Gods that you don't get the 50 Burpees combo! It can be done, but it will not tickle ;)

Coming up: Hydration Matters...A cycling profile with playlist to roll through!..and I try Energy Bits for extra mojo!

 

 

Short on time? Try this 15-Minute Power Core Blast!

Sadly, a strong lean core does not make itself. Happily, getting one doesn't require 800 crunches a day and a life spent munching nothing but carrots and celery.

Combine clean eating (follow the "eat 90 percent clean 90 percent of the time" rule) with regular bouts of 30-45 minutes of cardio, plus the right core moves, and your core will get stronger. Yes, you get the benefit of a leaner middle, but the best part is that a strong core powers you through daily activities and workouts. The Badass is fully unleashed.

Today's core routine is short on time, big on results. All you need is you, a mat, your favorite tunes - or even your favorite TV show, if you prefer to turn this into a Badass-approved "couch potato" routine.

Note there are no sit-ups or standard crunches. Those are not the most effective for building core strength. Instead, this is heavy on planks, boat poses and Pilates-inspired moves that engage the obliques and have you bracing the core for extended periods of time.

15-Minute Power Core Blast

Circuit 1

• 1 minute plank
• 30 seconds of waist cinchers
• 10 slow pushups
• 1 minute plank
• 30 seconds of waist cinchers
• 10 slow pushups

Circuit 2

• 1 minute right side plank
• 30 seconds of right side planks with hip dips
• 15 right side planks, with knee lifts
• 10 walking planks
• 1 minute left side plank
• 30 seconds of left side planks with hip dips
• 15 right side planks, with knee to elbow crunches
• 10 walking planks

Circuit 3

• 30 seconds of ab sprawls
• 30 second boat pose
• 10 right-side starfish crunches, 10 left-side starfish crunches
• Repeat one more round of ab sprawls, boat pose and starfish crunches
• Done!!

Coming up: A "triple-layer club" cycling profile, and two tasty sandwiches for a quick, healthy post-workout refuel...

 

This Workout is Coming in 5-4-3-2-1...

Here's the good news: This workout will take you as little as 15 minutes.

Here's the bad news: It's one of my trademark "well that seemed easy enough on paper" workouts.

But here's more good news: Yes it is absolutely a Badass-kicker, and yes you can absolutely conquer it!

It's a countdown workout blending cardio and strength with five sets start at 5 minutes, then 4, then 3, until the last set which is a mere 1 minute long. We got that, right?

You can go through this once, for a 15 minute blast, or go through it twice when time - and mojo - permits. I tried and tested this one over the weekend. It burns more than it tickles, but the endorphin rush - and calorie burn - are awesome.

Set 1, 5 Minutes

• Jumping jacks, 1 minute
• Skaters, 1 minute
• Jump squats (add rotation for even more oomph), 30 seconds
• Skaters, 1 minute
• Jumping jacks, 1 minute
• Jump squats, 30 seconds

Set 2, 4 Minutes

• 1 minute diagonal lunges
• 30 seconds burpees

 

• 1 minute diagonal lunges

 

• 30 seconds burpees
• 1 minute in-n-out squats

Set 3, 3 minutes

• 30 seconds of regular pushups
• 30 seconds of chair dips
• 30 seconds of walking planks

 

• 30 seconds of regular pushups
• 30 seconds of chair dips
• 30 seconds of walking planks

Set 4, 2 minutes

• 30 seconds of right-leg jump lunges

 

• 30 seconds of ready-sets
• 30 seconds of left-leg jump lunges
• 30 seconds of ready-sets

Set 4, 1 minute

• 30 second plank

  

• 30 seconds of waist cinchers

 

 

A Couch Potato Workout That's Badass-Approved!

Can we be couch potatoes AND Badasses?

Within reason, and with a little interval-filled creativity, yes we can! I don't watch a ton of TV, but the shows I do love (Criminal Minds, Law and Order, plus cable favorites Dexter, Nurse Jackie, etc.)  I am not willing to give up.

So this workout combines the best of both worlds - TV watching, plus commercial-break intervals that get us off the couch. No equipment needed. Just you, a little floor space, and the will to get up off the couch for two minutes at a time. All exercises can be found on the Badass YouTube channel, or click the links below. Enjoy!

Commercial 1

• Burpees, for the first minute
• Sumo Squats, for the remainder

Commercial 2

• Mountain Climbers, 30 seconds
• Pushups, 30 seconds
• Mountain Climbers, 15 seconds
• Pushups, 15 seconds

Commercial 3

• Tricep dips for 30 seconds (floor dips or using a chair or coffee table)
• Frog Pushups for 30 seconds
• Tricep dips for 15 seconds
• Frog Pushups for 15 seconds

Commercial 4

• Running in place, high knees, for 30 seconds
• Jump squats for 30 seconds
• Running in place, high knees, for 15 seconds
• Jump squats for 15 seconds

Commercial 5

• 30-second plank, followed by 20 waist cinchers
• Repeat

Coming up: The 5-4-3-2-1-Blastoff Workout...

In a Fitness Rut? Try This, Instead of That...5 Must-Try Moves!

Badass Rule No. 532: When it starts to feel easy, it's time to kick things up a notch! Our bodies are amazingly strong, stronger than we give them credit for in many cases. And with that strength comes adaptability.

No matter how tough the exercise, running session, or pool workout, if we do it often enough, it's not so tough anymore. And the strength and cardio gains diminish. Teaching 11 classes a week, including several cycling and bootcamp classes, I am hyper-aware of the need to constantly switch things up.

A cycling student last week noted, "Classes seem a lot tougher this past month." Yes, intentionally so. My students are strong, and I can tell when the ride profiles are becoming less of a challenge. Ditto in bootcamp.

So here are 5 moves to try, replacing them with old standards. Incorporate these into your next few workouts, and feel the extra burn!

1. Instead of regular pushups...try Walking Pushups: More movement, more challenging!

  

2. Instead of regular squats, try In-n-Out Squats: Again, more movement in this means you get your heart rate up. Also the lateral movement with the "out" and the "in" portion of this squat fire up the inner and outer thighs and glutes in a stronger way.

 

3. Instead of jumping jacks or jump squats, try....Burpees!:If you have ever done a burpee, you know these are like jumping jacks or jump squats on steroids. I love doing these in sets of 10 in between strength sets at the gym for an extra calorie burn. The higher you jump up on that last part of the burpee, the more you'll work your leg muscles AND your heart.

 

4. Instead of regular crunches...do Starfish Crunches: These Pilates-inspired crunches are far more effective for working the core, including your obliques and lower abdominals.

 

5. Instead of static planks...do waist cincher planks!